Giggs furious over Meyler's 'stamp'

MANCHESTER -- Ryan Giggs called on the authorities to offer Manchester United's Adnan Januzaj more protection and branded it "a joke" that Hull's David Meyler escaped punishment for allegedly stamping on the teenager.

Adnan Januzaj was stepped on at the end of Man United's game by Hull City's David Meyler.

The City midfielder could yet miss the FA Cup final if retrospective action is taken against him for the 90th-minute incident in United's 3-1 victory at Old Trafford.

And interim manager Giggs, who was on the pitch when it happened, revealed that Januzaj has a long gash on his leg.

"I didn't see [the incident] but I have seen his leg," Giggs said in a news conference. "It goes from his knee to his ankle. It is the second time it has happened to him this season and it's not great to see. It is terrible, his leg.

"He needs protecting. He is a brilliant player, he is exciting and the authorities need to stamp down on it, whether that can happen now ... but it was bad. I have not seen the stamp but I have seen his leg and it is bad. It is a joke."

Hull manager Steve Bruce claimed he was unaware of the incident, saying: "I haven't seen anything."

However, he praised the United teenager, adding: "If he keeps his feet on the ground which I am sure he will do, he is going to be a superstar."

Giggs gave debuts to winger Tom Lawrence and 18-year-old striker James Wilson, who scored twice.

"He is a natural goalscorer but he has got more to his game than that," he said. "He can run at people, he has got pace and he is a clever player so delighted for him to score the two goals, think he might have wanted to stay on and get his hat-trick but he was fantastic, as was Adnan."

Giggs was also pleased with Lawrence as he felt his decision to trust in youth was justified after the disappointment of Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Sunderland.

"I am obviously delighted for them, they were brilliant tonight as was Adnan," he added. "They are three players there who have been at the club since they were 8 or 9 and Adnan since he was 12 or 13 so it was great.

"They have obviously done well with the youth team and the Under 21s. Tom has gone on loan and done really well and they have trained with us in the last few days and done really well. After Saturday I was really disappointed with and wanted to freshen things up and give them the chance and they didn't disappoint."